Employee Spotlight – Ryan Strasshofer

 

Originally from Newport Beach, CA, I was raised in Eugene from 2nd grade on. I am a University of Oregon Alum, and a Duck for life. I studied English in college, and went into insurance and financial planning afterwards. I obtained licenses for all lines of insurance, as well as Series 6 and 63 securities licenses. Roughly a year after my client and friend Ben (Bazer) co-founded Gorilla Capital, while he and I were on our way to a double date with our now wife and fiancé, Ben mentioned that he was interested in expanding the operation to Bend, Oregon. Having an affinity for Bend, I offered to go to work for Ben if he would provide me with the tools and training to do fix and flip for Gorilla Capital. A few months later I moved to Bend, just in time for the market to crash…

It is true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I learned many lessons the hard way, and worked my way out of the hole that I was left in after values dropped 50% in 12 months in Bend. In January of 2009 I moved to Salem to open up that territory with the help of Evan Wiesner, now our VP of Acquisitions. Evan and I spent 6 weeks of 10-hour days viewing nearly 2,500 homes to set up our territory (this was pre Google Maps).

Ultimately, I ended up back in Eugene and started a family with my wife, Nicole. We now have two wonderful children, Payton who is 5 years old, and Jonathan who is just 16 months. Our dog, Murphy, has been around for nearly 10 years, and coming to work at Gorilla since early 2010. We are fortunate enough to have both my parents nearby, as well as our extended family at Gorilla.

What technology innovation made the most impact on your life?
Google Maps. I would have said GPS, but Google Maps allows me to see houses from space… it’s crazy, I highly recommend it.

What is your favorite sport to watch?
Football. RedZone is awesome, especially with 3 computer screens so I can track all of my fantasy teams.

If you had one free hour each day, how would you use it?
Sleep. I love my kids, but I miss sleep.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
To a tropical white sand beach with warm water and cool drinks. I hear the Caribbean is nice, but I am not picky.

If you had a time machine, what point in the past or future would you visit?
I would visit the Deschutes County Courthouse in Bend, Oregon at 9:58am on Friday May 2nd, 2008 and talk myself out of buying 16056 Buena Vista Dr, La Pine

Over the course of your life, how many cities have you lived in and which was your favorite?
8 Cities, Los Gatos, CA (South Bay Area) was my favorite.

What is one of the things on your bucket list?
To visit all 7 continents

What is the most important personal attribute that you bring to your job?
Problem Solving. Fix and Flip is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

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Did you know that a group of gorillas is known as a “band”? Read about other members of the Gorilla Capital band here.